Wednesday, June 24, 2015
FBI Asking About Diehl Connections with Burke Contracts
KC Star’s Steve Kraske was the first out of the gate yesterday with the story that the Federal Bureau of Investigations is looking into whether former speaker John Diehl has a hand in Jackson County awarding a $75K consulting contract to Brittany Burke. See it here.
Bits from KC story: Burke… said she was told explicitly by authorities that her firm is not the target of the investigation. Burke declined to be interviewed further by The Star… A spokesman said County Executive Mike Sanders had not spoken with the FBI.
Next was Post-Dispatch’s Virginia Young. See it here.
Bits from Post story: Dan Tarwater, chairman of the Jackson County Legislature… told the FBI that legislators awarded the contract to Burke at the request of Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders, also a Democrat. “We were told that this Brittany Burke was an expert on health care, and that (she) would be able to help with some of the Affordable Care Act, and help us at Truman Medical Center and some other areas,” Tarwater said.
Theresa Garza Ruiz said… Burke’s bid was “presented to us as the lowest and best.”
And then was St. Louis Public Radio duo Jo Mannies and mighty Jason Rosenbaum. See it here.
Bits from Public Radio story: Diehl… said late Tuesday that he has not been contacted by the FBI. He declined further comment.
And
Reminder to all: Don’t mess with the Tax Man. And don’t lie to G-men. Those are the fastest ways to the pokey.
Raise Your Hand Kick-Offs
Following their kick-off event in St. Louis last week, with nearly a hundred people in attendance, Raise Your Hand for Kids holds their Kansas City launch tomorrow night at Legoland Discovery Center. In the large contributions, below, see some big checks hitting their campaign account. Raise Your Hand is trying to put a 50 cents/pack cigarette tax increase on the 2016 ballot to fund childhood and health services.
Raise Your Hand Poll
Raise Your Hand faces competition for tobacco tax dollars in Treasurer Clint Zweifel’s Missouri’s Promise proposal. Accordingly they’ve polled to see where voters are on the two issues. Here are the results of an April 7 2015 poll of 600 Missourians by The Mellman Group.
I'm going to read you an initiative that will be on the ballot in a future election. Afterward, please tell me whether you would vote yes or no on this initiative, or are you undecided.
Shall Missouri Law be amended to:
Increase the state cigarette tax by 50 cents per pack, over 2 years, to a total of 67 cents per pack
Use the proceeds from the 50 cent per pack increase to create an Early Health and Early
Education Trust Fund
Use the money in the Trust Fund only for block grants to counties to fund early childhood health and education programs, for children birth to five years old
Establish governing boards in each county to distribute the funds
Estimated additional revenue to be distributed to local government entities is $170 million dollars to $270 million dollars annually. A percentage of the new revenue is dedicated to offset the state's implementation costs. The revenue will fund only programs and services allowed by the proposal.
If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no on this initiative, or are you undecided?
Yes, strongly................................35
Yes, not so strongly................................13
Undecided, lean yes................................9
Undecided................................14
Undecided, lean no................................3
No, not so strongly................................3
No, strongly................................22
NET YES...................58
NET NO................................28
Now I'm going to read you an initiative that will be on the ballot in a future election. Afterward, please tell me whether you would vote yes or no on this initiative, or are you undecided.
Shall Missouri law be amended to:
Create the Missouri Promise scholarship program with the proceeds of a tax of 73 cents per pack of cigarettes, which would increase the state cigarette tax to 90 cents per pack in total
Use fund proceeds to give merit-based scholarships to Missouri citizens to attend eligible colleges, universities and technical schools.
Estimated additional revenue to state government is $283 million dollars to $423 million dollars annually with limited estimated implementation costs or savings. The revenue will fund only programs and services allowed by the proposal. There is no impact to local government entities.
If the election were held today, would you vote yes or no on this initiative, or are you undecided?
Yes, strongly................................34
Yes, not so strongly....................................14
Undecided, lean yes................................10
Undecided................................11
Undecided, lean no................................4
No, not so strongly................................5
No, strongly................................23
NET YES................................57
NET NO................................32
Which of the following initiatives would you rather vote for:
An initiative that raises cigarette taxes by 50 cents per pack in order to fund health and education programs for children birth to five
OR
An initiative that raises cigarette taxes by 73 cents per pack in order fund merit-based scholarships for Missouri citizens to attend eligible colleges, universities and technical schools
Early childhood health and education,
strongly.........................37
Early childhood health and education, not so strongly..............11
Merit-based scholarships, not so strongly................................8
Merit-based scholarships, strongly................................20
Neither................................20
Don’t know/Ref ..............................5
NET EARLY CHILDHOOD HEALTH & EDUCATION...48
NET MERIT-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS..............................27
Nixon “Still Reviewing” Transfer Bill
St. Louis Public Radio’s Dale Singer reports on an announcement by Governor Jay Nixon that other St. Louis school districts are pitching in to help the troubled Normandy and Riverview Gardens districts. See it here.
Nixon “still isn’t saying whether he plans to sign an education bill passed earlier this year by lawmakers…. He told a news conference at Bel-Nor school in Normandy Tuesday that his office is still reviewing the wide-ranging legislation, HB42.”
Bits
Lobbyist Kate Casas is named as an Eisenhower Fellow. See it here.
Mayor Sly James singing in a church, paying off a World Series bet to San Francisco. See it here.
If Iran leaves the negotiations tables, a B-2 will take off from Missouri to take care of things. See it here.
See results of Kansas City’s municipal elections here.
eMailbag: Priase for Kalmer
Reader 1: Hiring Emily Kalmer is a huge win for Nicole Galloway in rounding out her staff. Emily has a ton of respect in the building, and a lot more influence than she takes credit for…
Reader 2: Galloway is assembling a very competent team…
eMailbag: Praise for Crosslin
So glad to see the Anna Crosslin honor!.. There is nothing like singing "This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land" with a room full of people who are anxious to have the rights and responsibilities of life in the U.S. - people who fled Russia, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Vietnam, and many other nations for a variety of reasons. I came to know Anna and many on her staff pretty well and to admire their work so much.
Today’s Events
From Mary Scruggs’ indispensable events calendar:
Missouri Senate Republican Campaign Reception – Bar Napoli – Clayton – 5:30-7PM
Lobbyists Registrations
Jason Van Eaton deleted his lobbyist registration. He had been registered for Ameren Missouri, HCL America, Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Spectrum Consulting Group LLC.
Patrick Ian Dunlap deleted Missouri Department of Corrections.
$5K+ Contributions
Raise Your Hand for Kids - $25,000 from Alliance for Childhood Education.
Parson for Governor - $10,000 from Doug Libla for Senate.
Missouri Growth PAC - $25,000 from Friends of Tilley.
Greitens for Missouri - $25,000 from Joyce Wood.
Raise Your Hand for Kids - $25,000 from August Busch III.
Notes on Money
Joyce Wood is the ex-wife of southeast businessman Howard Wood, who was one of Steve Tilley’s more generous contributors.
Birthdays
Happy birthdays to Reps. Kevin Austin (50) and Shelley Kenney, former Reps. Jim Krieder (60) and Dani Moore (69), and Alex Curchin (41).